A Pain in the
by Rackuhn
Summary: One kind of pain for Heyes causes another kind of pain for Curry.


A Pain In The…

By: Rackuhn

Summary: One kind of pain for Heyes causes another kind of pain for Curry.

Disclaimer: Don't own them, just write about them, oh yeah not making any money either.

Kid Curry heard the strange noise and looked over the campfire in time to see his cousin's strained faced and how he quickly tried to hide the fact that he was in pain. Kid just shook his head at his partner's stubborn streak. "Heyes, when are ya gonna see someone about that tooth of yours?"

"What tooth? There's nothing wrong with my tooth," Hannibal Heyes adamantly denied, grimacing slightly at the fact that his tooth did hurt and the fact that his partner caught him.

"What tooth?" Kid said as he glared back at the man. "The one that's obviously givin' ya trouble. You've been more miserable than a cougar caught in a trap for the last week and a half. You've been growlin' at me every chance ya get, and it's obvious that you're hurtin' otherwise you would have done better at the poker tables back in Bristol where we could be sleepin' in nice warm beds instead of out in the open…again!"

"You can't blame me for that one," Heyes argued back in defense.

"Heyes, ya lost two hundred and fifty of the two hundred and seventy-five dollars we had in less than two hours. The only other time you lost money that fast was when you let Big Mac talk you into doing that delivery job for him and he didn't pay ya 'cause the thing was broke when ya got there."

"I still say it was broken before I even got it," Heyes mumbled back trying to distract Kid's attention away from his tooth.

"Not gonna work Heyes," Kid said with a look that told Heyes he wasn't going to be sidetracked this time. "Next town we hit that has a doctor, you're going even if I have to flatten ya."

"I already told ya that I'm fine Kid. I don't need to see a doctor when there's nothing wrong with me," Heyes yelled back as he got up and started pacing.

"Oh yeah? Let's see you take another sip of your coffee then," Kid challenged.

Heyes, not one to let Kid get the better of him, took a large gulp of his coffee just to prove him wrong. Unfortunately for Heyes, the coffee was still hot enough that once it hit his sore tooth, he automatically spit the coffee back out, groaning in pain as he held the right side of his face with his hand. Kid just sat back and watched his cousin with a smug look on his face. "Not hurting ya, huh?"

"No!" Heyes growled out and threw the rest of his coffee into the fire. "It just tastes bad, that's all."

"Funny, you're the only one I know of who actually likes your coffee," Kid smiled back.

"Well I don't like it this morning all right?"

"Fine, fine," Kid said as he held up his hands in surrender. "I'll forget about your tooth…for now."

The two of them broke camp and loaded the horses with their gear and headed on their way. Heyes sat there brooding as they rode on hating the thought that Kid was right and that he really did need to see someone about his tooth but he really didn't want to. He kept telling himself that it wasn't because he was afraid of seeing a doctor; it's just that he knew that his tooth would get better soon without having to see anyone for it.

A couple of hours later, Kid pulled up beside him and offered him a snack. "Jerky?" Kid asked with a smug smile on his face. Heyes just glared back at his annoying partner. "Ya know Heyes, you could probably enjoy this delicious treat if only you didn't have that bum tooth."

"Kid?"

"Yeah Heyes?"

"Shut up!" Heyes spurred his horse on as Kid sat there chuckling to himself.

It was late afternoon when they finally arrived in the small town of Rockville and knowing that they needed supplies, they decided to stop for the day and spend the night in warm, comfortable beds. As they were riding through, Heyes checked out the Sheriff's office while Kid looked around at the rest of the town.

"Sheriff Daniel Bacon," Heyes said as he read the sign. "Don't think we know him, do we?" Heyes looked over at his partner when he didn't answer, seeing that Kid had his attention on something else. "What are you looking at?" he asked as he turned to see what had Kid's attention.

Kid turned and smiled at him. "Oh just something that you definitely need."

Heyes cocked his head at the look on Kid's face. "What do I need?"

"That!" Kid answered as he pointed to a building that they were riding up to. Heyes turned his attention once again only to realize what Kid was pointing at.

"Doctor? I don't need a doctor," he said as he started his horse forward again.

"Oh no you don't Heyes," Kid yelled as he grabbed the bridal on Heyes' horse. "You're gonna get that tooth taken care of even if I have to flatten ya to do it."

"There's nothing wrong with my tooth, I tell you!" Heyes denied again. Before he could get away though, Kid pulled his horse along and brought both of them up in front of the doctor's office. Kid quickly dismounted and pulled Heyes off of his own horse, the man protesting the entire way.

Knocking on the door, Kid entered, dragging Heyes right behind him. "Hello? Anyone here?" Kid yelled out while still holding onto his cousin. A man, a few years older than them, walked out of the other room to see who was there.

"I'm Doctor Michaels. What can I do for you?" he asked as he looked over the two men standing in his entryway.

"Uh, hi Doc. My name's Thaddeus Jones and this is my partner Joshua Smith. He's got a bum tooth, Doc. Can you do anything to help him?" Kid asked as he pushed Heyes towards the Doctor.

"A bad tooth? I think I can do something about that," Michaels smiled back. "Follow me."

"Uh, that's not necessary Doc. I'm fine really. Don't want to you go to any trouble," Heyes said as he turned to go only to be stopped by Kid.

"Nonsense. It's no trouble at all, Mr. Smith. It'll only take me a minute to check to see how bad it is," Michaels smiled as he took Heyes by the arm and led him into the examination room, Kid following close behind. "Just have a seat and I'll take a look," Michaels ordered while pointing to a chair with a headrest on the back of it.

Heyes reluctantly sat down and glared at Kid who just stood there with his arms crossed, smiling back at him. Kid couldn't help but shake his head at the fact that Heyes could handle nitroglycerin without a care in the world but would be afraid of a doctor that was willing to help take care of his tooth.

"Uh, which side is the bad tooth on?" Michaels asked his patient.

"I'm fine, Doc. Really," Heyes protested again.

"Lower right, Doc," Kid informed the man, receiving an "if looks could kill" glare from Heyes.

"Open up please," Michaels requested after adjusting a mirrored lantern so that its light was shining on Heyes' face. Heyes reluctantly did so. As he did, Heyes saw what looked like a sharpened version of one of his lock picks coming towards his mouth. He immediately started squirming in the chair trying his best to get away from the sharp instrument that was coming closer to him. "Relax Mr. Smith. This won't hurt."

Seeing his cousin's distress, Kid immediately moved behind him and held him down by the shoulders so that the Doc could take a look. Heyes felt his partner's hands holding him and quickly closed his eyes as he saw the Doctor getting closer. He then felt the metal scraping against his teeth and probably would have jumped out of the chair if Kid hadn't been holding him down when the Doc hit the tooth in question.

"Ah, I believe that I found it," Michaels said as he straightened back up. "You have a cavity, Mr. Smith, a big one. You have two options to take care of it. One is we can just pull the tooth or two we can clean it up and fill it."

"Fill it?" Kid asked as he continued to hold onto Heyes.

"Yes fill it," Michaels repeated. "It's a fairly new procedure where I use a small drill to remove some of the tooth to make the hole a bit bigger."

"You want to make the cavity bigger?" Heyes asked in astonishment.

"I'm afraid I have to so that I can then clean the inside of the tooth so that there is nothing left to cause an infection. Then I will fill it. Once the filling has hardened, it'll feel like you never had a problem with your tooth. So Mr. Smith, what would you like me to do? Pull it or fill it?"

"Neither," Heyes answered as he tried to get out of the chair only to be stopped by Kid. "Thaddeus, will you let go of me? I already told you I'm fine."

"No deal, Joshua. You're getting your tooth fixed and fixed right now," Kid said as he strained to hold onto his partner. Once Heyes settled back down, he turned back to the Doc. "Okay Doc, which way do you prefer to do this?"

"Pulling the tooth would be the quickest way but it does tend to hurt more and there is more of a risk of infection. Filling the tooth does take a little longer but once it's finished, your tooth is as good as new."

"Okay Joshua, what do you want to do?"

"Leave."

Kid sighed and shook his head. "Let's fill the tooth Doc," Kid said as he curled his fingers into Heyes' shoulders warning him not to give the Doc any trouble.

"Are you sure?" Michaels asked seeing how uncomfortable Heyes was becoming.

"Oh yeah, real sure," Kid answered. Heyes just sat there grumbling about disloyal partners.

"Okay then. Seeing how nervous you appear to be Mr. Smith, I'm going to give you something that will make you sleep for a little while so that I can work on your tooth." Heyes' eyes widened at the prospect. "Don't worry Mr. Smith. I assure you that when you wake up, everything is going to be just fine." Michaels turned and headed over to a cabinet and pulled out a small can and some gauze. Turning again, he addressed the two men. "This is Ether, Mr. Smith. I'm going to use this to make you sleep. Once you're out, I will then fix your tooth. Are you ready?"

"No, but seeing that I have no choice," he answered as he looked up at Kid and sighed, "let's get this over with."

Moving over to Heyes' side, Doctor Michaels poured a small amount of Ether onto the gauze and then placed the wet fabric onto Heyes' face. "Breath deeply Mr. Smith." Heyes did what he was told, breathing in the sweet scented mixture, and was soon out. Kid finally let go of his shoulders when he saw that his partner was asleep and looked up at the Doctor.

"He's just fine," Michaels reassured Kid as he did a quick check of his patient's pulse. "Now, let's fix that tooth." Doctor Michaels went over to another cabinet and started pulling out the needed instruments. Kid stood there, eyes wide open, when Michaels pulled out the drill he was going to use. As Michaels pumped the foot pedal, Kid saw the drill start to spin and cringed when Michaels started working on Heyes. Kid, not one to normally be squeamish, felt the room start to spin as he heard the sound the drill was making against Heyes' tooth. He quickly looked around and found a chair to sit in before his legs gave out.

Ignoring the other man in the room, Michaels continued his work. Once he was satisfied with the results, he set the drill aside and started cleaning the exposed tooth, making sure to swab it down thoroughly to avoid any kind of infection. He then went over to the stove where he had place a small cast iron pot earlier, and spooned out a small amount of the pot's contents. While holding onto the spoon and its contents, he looked around and noticed that Kid was now sitting in the chair with a pale appearance and breathing heavily.

"Are you all right, Mr. Jones?" Kid just nodded his head not able to answer at the moment. "If you're sure, I'll continue." Kid nodded again. "This is silver, low grade silver, not worth much but great for filling teeth," Michaels smiled. Kid watched in wonder as Michaels took a small amount of the hardened silver and rolled it into a small ball. He then watched as the Doc placed it Heyes' mouth and using another type of metal instrument, started pushing it down into the tooth. Kid paled again when Michaels then took the drill once again and started filing down the silver. Michaels then looked up and smiled. "All done, Mr. Jones. Now all we have to do is wait for Mr. Smith to wake up some and then you can take him home." Kid just nodded again.

"Is…is he going to be okay?" Kid asked, swallowing hard after what he just saw.

"He should be just fine. He might be in a small amount of pain from the procedure, but it will quickly pass. Just make sure that he eats soft foods for the rest of the day and by tomorrow, he won't even know he had anything done."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks a lot Doc," Kid said, his color returning now that the Doc was finished. Uh, could you keep an eye on him for a few minutes while I take care of getting a hotel room and stable the horses?"

"Certainly," Michaels agreed. "He'll need a few more minutes before the Ether wears off anyhow."

"Thanks Doc," Kid said and left to do what he needed to do.

A half hour later, Kid returned to find that Heyes was awake but sitting there with what looked like a drunken grin on his face. "Hey Joshua, how are ya feeling?"

Heyes looked up at Kid and smiled. "Hi ya Kid!" Kid just stood there straight faced before turning to face the Doctor. "I see he's still out of it. Anything I should do for him while he's like this?"

"I must admit, I never saw anyone react to Ether this way. Usually they are quite groggy. So I suggest that you just take him back to your hotel room and let him rest. Once the Ether passes through his system, he should be just fine."

Kid nodded. "Thanks Doc. I sure do appreciate this," Kid smiled as he paid the Doctor. Turning he lifted Heyes up to his feet, the man leaning heavily against him. "Come on Joshua, let's get you to the hotel."

"Sure Kid, sure," Heyes slurred back. Kid just shook his head. "Thanks again Doc," Kid shouted over his shoulder as he helped Heyes back to the hotel. Kid literally dragged Heyes down the street, which wasn't easy since he kept getting distracted in his drug-induced haze. Anything that caught his eye, Heyes wanted to go see forcing Kid to turn him around and continue onto the hotel.

As Kid was pulling his partner along, Heyes suddenly stopped in front of the wooden Indian that was standing in front of the general store. Standing up straight, Heyes raised his right hand. "How."

Kid shook his head in amusement. "That's not a real Indian Heyes."

"It's not?" Heyes asked as he leaned in for a closer look.

"No it's not," Kid answered.

"Sure looks real," replied Heyes as he squinted at the wooden figure. "You sure he ain't real?"

"I'm pretty sure, Heyes. Now come on."

Kid started to pull him along and both men nearly collided with the Sheriff as he came out of the general store. Kid was able to pull his partner to a stop just in time before he knocked the other man over. "Oh, uh excuse us Sheriff," Kid stammered out as he tried to hide his nervousness.

"Gentlemen," Sheriff Bacon said in response. He quickly looked over the two men standing in front of him, trying to determine what they were up to. He frowned when he looked at Heyes. "What's the matter with him?"

"Oh, he just had a tooth worked on by Doctor Michaels and he's sort of havin' a reaction to the stuff the Doc gave him to make him sleep," Kid answered as he tried to keep his partner by his side.

The Sheriff eyed the two men again. "You sure he ain't just drunk?"

"He's not drunk, Sheriff," Kid replied as Heyes turned to look at the Indian again. "Just ask Doctor Michaels. He'll tell ya."

"Hey Sheriff, do you see that Indian standing over there?" Heyes asked as he turned to face the man.

"That Indian?" Bacon questioned.

"Yeah him," Heyes smiled as he pointed over his shoulder to the wooden Indian with his thumb. "Don't say anything to anybody," he whispered loudly, "but he ain't real. Can you believe that?"

The Sheriff just stood there staring back at Heyes. "Uh yeah, I see what you mean," he answered not sure what to think of these two.

"Whoever heard of a fake Indian?" Heyes asked as he looked at Sheriff Bacon. "I certainly have never heard of a fake Indian. Have you ever heard of a fake Indian, Sheriff?"

"Sorry to bother you Sheriff," Kid smiled as he started pulling at Heyes' arm, "but I have to get my friend here back to our hotel room so that he can sleep off what the Doc gave him."

"Yeah, see that you do," the Sheriff agreed, thinking that he might just take a walk over to see Doc Michaels.

"Uh yes sir. Thanks Sheriff. See you around." Kid threw a glance over his shoulder noticing that the Sheriff was watching the two men as they continued on their way to the hotel. "That was too close," Kid mumbled. "Come on Heyes, let's go."

"Where're we going?" Heyes asked as he began looking around at the other fascinating collection of things the town had to offer.

"To the hotel so that you can get some sleep."

"But I'm not tired," Heyes protested.

"Sure ya are. You just don't know it yet," Kid answered as he continued to pull his cousin along.

"Let's hit the saloon first, Kid," Heyes suggested as he tried to pull Kid towards the noisy building

"Nope. Going to the hotel," Kid said as he dragged his partner to the hotel.

"Aw come on, please?" Heyes begged as he tripped over the wooden boardwalk and was pulled through the front door of the hotel.

"Too late. We're already here at the hotel."

"This is a hotel?" Heyes asked as he looked around. "Sure looks like a saloon to me. Fancy one too!"

Wanting to ask the desk clerk a question, Kid steered Heyes over to the front desk. "Uh hi," Kid said as he tried to keep Heyes standing. He quickly leaned Heyes against the counter to relieve some of the strain on his arms. "Can you tell me…"

"Bartender, another drink!" Heyes yelled out as he pounded on the front desk causing the people in the lobby to look over at them. Kid quickly grabbed his arms and held onto him.

"This isn't the saloon, Joshua," Kid whispered loudly into Heyes' ear. He then smiled apologetically to the desk clerk. "Uh, sorry about that. He's having a reaction to some medication the Doc gave him." The desk clerk just nodded his head not quite sure if he believed the man. "Could you tell me if the rest of our stuff was taken upstairs yet?"

"Yes, yes it was," the clerk answered, still trying to determine if Heyes was actually drunk or not.

"Great. Thanks a lot," Kid smiled and turned Heyes towards the stairs.

"Hey Kid, this is the strangest saloon I've ever been in," Heyes said loudly as he spun around pulling himself free from Kid's grasp. "Where's all the women? Where's the music? Where's the poker games?" Kid grabbed his partner and continued to push Heyes up the stairs, holding onto him as he stumbled over almost every stair.

Finally making it upstairs to their room, Kid pushed Heyes inside and locked the door behind them. Leaning against the door and sighing in relief, Kid pushed himself up and maneuvered Heyes towards the bed. He turned Heyes around and quickly removed his partner's gun belt, not trusting Heyes with a gun in his hand at the moment. Kid then went to remove his cousin's hat when he felt Heyes' hands on his shoulders and saw that he was staring face to face with him.

"Ya know Kid, you're the best partner a guy could ask for, ya know that?" Heyes slurred, as he looked Kid in the face.

"Yeah Heyes, I know," Kid answered back with a sigh, finally removing the black hat from the man's head.

"No, I mean it Kid," Heyes continued as Kid tried to remove his partner's hands from his own shoulders, only to have Heyes put them right back where they were. "We've known each other for how long now?"

"All our lives Heyes," Kid said still trying to push Heyes off of himself.

"All our lives. Do ya know how long that is?" Heyes asked seriously.

"I think I've got an idea, Heyes."

"That long? Wow!" Heyes said as he pulled his hands off of Kid's shoulders and moved out of Kid's reach. Kid sighed again as he went after his partner. He stopped short when Heyes abruptly turned around. "Thick and thin!" he shouted while waving his finger in the air. "We've been together through thick and thin. Good and bad, uh….uh, what's another one of those sayings?" he asked Kid as he snapped his fingers.

"Come on Heyes…"

"Come on Heyes!" Heyes repeated and stopped with a funny look on his face. "No wait, that doesn't sound right."

"No, come on Heyes," Kid said his patience starting to wear thin. "Time for you to go to bed."

"But I don't wanna go to bed," Heyes replied as he backed away from Kid. "I got it! Let's go back down to that fancy saloon and see if we can pick up a poker game or two."

"Pick up a poker game?" Kid asked, shaking his head. "Heyes, the way you are right now, you wouldn't know a flush from a pair of threes."

"Sure I would," Heyes smiled back as he swayed slightly. "That's easy. The threes look like half an eight while a flush…"

"Okay Heyes, okay. You do know the difference between a flush and a pair of threes, but you're still not leavin' this room. You're goin' to bed." Kid's patience was really starting to wear thin.

"Uh uh," Heyes answered while shaking his head.

"Uh uh?" Kid repeated. "What do you mean uh uh?"

"I'm not gonna go to bed unless you read me a bed time story," Heyes smiled back as he poked a finger into Kid's chest.

"A bed time story?" Kid asked incredulously, running a hand down his face. "You want me to read you a bed time story?"

"Sure, why not? I use to read you bed time stories all the time," Heyes replied as if his request was nothing out of the norm.

"I was five years old when you used to read to me," Kid yelled back, "whether I wanted you to or not and most of the time it was not!" Heyes just stood there, not moving, not saying a word, just standing there. Suddenly a pout began to form on his face. Kid stood there in disbelief as he saw the look on his cousin's face. "Oh no, you're not gonna to cry are you?"

"Maybe," Heyes answered, his lower lip trembling a bit.

Kid groaned. "Oh, all right. I'll read you a bed time story." The pout quickly turned into a bright, dimpled smile as Heyes ran over to the bed and jumped on it landing face down into the pillow. Turning over, he quickly got himself comfortable as Kid dug around in Heyes' saddlebags for the book that he knew would be there.

For over an hour, Kid sat in the chair next to the bed reading to Heyes, in what was Kid's opinion, one of the most boring books ever written, until the man finally fell asleep. Kid was very grateful to hear Heyes' loud snoring knowing that he would be out for a while. Finding himself hungry, Kid quietly left the room, making sure to lock the door so that Heyes couldn't get out, and headed downstairs. At the restaurant across the street, Kid ordered a quick meal for himself and a take out order for Heyes, in case he woke up any time soon. He hurriedly ate his meal and headed back to the hotel room. When he opened the door, he found the room empty.

"Aw damn, I forgot about his lock picks," Kid swore as he mentally kicked himself. Throwing the food down on the dresser, Kid headed back downstairs to the front desk. "Uh, excuse me, did you happen to see my friend Mr. Smith leave the hotel?"

"Yes I did. He left shortly after you did," the clerk answered.

"Did he seem all right to you?" Kid asked concerned.

"He wasn't staggering as bad as he was when you first arrived."

"Huh, maybe that stuff the Doc gave him is wearing off," Kid thought out loud. "Did you happen to see which way he was headed?"

"Well sir, I'm assuming he was heading to the Saloon down the street since he said that this one wasn't very lively," the clerk deadpanned.

Kid groaned again. "Okay, thanks a lot." Kid quickly made his way to the saloon and practically tore the bat-winged doors off their hinges as he pushed his way in. Much to his dismay, he saw Heyes surrounded by a large group of people, who were also surrounding the piano player, all singing at the top of their lungs, off key, and very badly. One of the saloon girls was clinging firmly to Heyes' arm as he nuzzled her neck while he sang. Kid finally forced his way through the crowd and grabbed onto his cousin's free arm. "Joshua, it's time to go," he said through gritted teeth.

"Kid!" Heyes yelled out. "Hey everyone, this is Kid." The room erupted in a loud cheer as if celebrating Kid's arrival.

"Uh actually, the name's Thaddeus Jones," Kid replied quickly, hoping everyone in the room was too drunk to recognize him.

"Then why does he call you Kid?" another of the saloon girls cried out as she took his arm.

"'Cause I'm his kid cousin," Kid answered with the first thought that popped into his head. "It's a nickname that I wish he'd stop using." Kid quickly removed his arm from the saloon girl's grasp and took hold of his partner's arm. "Come on Joshua, we got to get back to the hotel room."

"Why?"

"Doctor's orders, remember?"

"The Doctor? Where? Does he want to join us?" Heyes slurred as he looked for the man. "We've been havin' a real good time here tonight singin' and singin' and singin' some more."

"I'm sure you have, but we have to go. We've got to get up early tomorrow so that we can get going as soon as possible," Kid said as he pulled Heyes through the crowd.

"Oh, okay," Heyes answered. "Hey folks, we gotta go. Got an early morning comin' up," Heyes yelled out to the crowd. A loud, disappointed groan swept through the entire saloon.

"Good night Joshua," a feminine voice called out.

"Night Rosie," Heyes answered back as Kid pulled him through the doors.

"Are you trying to get us arrested?" Kid asked in a loud whisper as he tried to drag Heyes back to the hotel.

"I was only tryin' to have a little fun," Heyes answered as he stopped, the wooden Indian catching his attention again. "How," Heyes said as he held up his right hand.

"I already done told ya Heyes, that Indian ain't real."

"You sure he ain't real? He sure looks real to me."

"Come on Heyes, we're going back to the hotel," Kid grumbled as he practically pulled Heyes off of his feet. "Remind me next time you have a tooth filled not to have the Doctor give you Ether."

"My tooth?" Heyes asked, stopping once again. "Ya know something Kid, it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Yeah, but my head sure does," Kid grumbled as he pulled on Heyes' arm.

"Your head?"

"I've got one heck of a headache from trying to keep you from getting us into trouble."

"Oh."

The two of them finally made it back to the hotel room, where Kid once again locked the door. "Okay Heyes, time for bed," Kid said as he pointed to the mattress.

"I don't wanna go to bed," Heyes answered.

"Oh no, we are not doin' this again," Kid said through gritted teeth. "You are goin' to bed, now."

"But I'm hungry," Heyes said in a whining voice.

Kid quickly turned, grabbed the bag of food off of the dresser, and tossed it to Heyes. "Here!"

"What's this?"

"Your supper. Now eat it so that you can go to bed."

Heyes opened the bag, frowned, and looked back at Kid. "It's cold."

"It wasn't when I first brought it up here for you to eat," Kid ground out.

"What is it?"

"It was a hot turkey sandwich."

"A sandwich?"

"Yeah a sandwich. Doc said you were only supposed to eat soft foods for the rest of the day. That was the softest thing on the menu besides the soup and I know how much ya hate soup."

"Oh, well then, thanks," Heyes answered and then smiled. "Ya know Kid, you're the best partner a guy could ask for?"

"Oh no, really, don't start that again!" Kid groaned out.

"No, I mean it Kid, really."

Kid groaned again as he threw himself onto his bed and covered his head with his pillow.

"Kid?"

"Yeah Heyes?" Kid asked, his voice muffled due to the pillow over his head.

"Kid?"

"Yeah Heyes?" Kid asked again as he pulled his head from under the pillow to look at his friend. Kid saw that Heyes was starting to wobble once again and that he had dropped his sandwich onto the floor.

"Kid?"

Kid got up from his own bed just in time to catch Heyes as he finally passed out from the affects of the Ether. Carefully, Kid placed Heyes onto his bed and covered the sleeping man up. Breathing a sigh of relief, Kid picked up the fallen sandwich, placing it back on the dresser and headed back to his own bed, plopping himself down, and falling asleep within moments himself, gun belt and boots still on.

The following morning, Heyes woke with a groan of his own, his head feeling like it was full of cotton, and for that matter, the same with his mouth. He tried to remember how much he had to drink last night but nothing was coming to mind. Slowly opening his eyes, he found that he was in a strange hotel room and wondered how he got there. As he sat up, he stopped his actions long enough for the room to stop spinning on him. Looking around, he noticed that he was alone and that there was no sign of Kid anywhere. He sat there desperately trying to think of how he got there and where his partner might be. Just as he was about to stand up, he heard the key being placed into the lock and saw the handle turn. He instinctively reached out to the bedpost and found his gun there, removed it from the holster, and aimed it at the door.

Kid Curry stopped in his tracks when he saw his partner's gun pointed at him. "Good, you're up. You ready to go?"

"Go? Go where?" Heyes asked in confusion as he put his gun away. "I don't even know where we are."

"We're still in Rockville," Kid answered as he closed the door and carried in the supplies he had just purchased.

"Rockville?"

"Yeah, we arrived yesterday afternoon, just before you went to see the Doc about your tooth," Kid explained as he packed the saddlebags.

"The Doc?" Heyes questioned trying to get his fuzzy brain to work. It took a few moments, but he finally remembered Kid dragging him into the Doctor's office to have him look at his tooth. Running his tongue over the right side of his mouth, he discovered that his tooth was still there and that there was a filling in it. "What did he do to me?" he asked suddenly concerned.

"Don't worry, Heyes. All Doc Michaels did was fill your tooth."

"I don't remember him doin' that."

"That's because you were asleep when he did it," Kid explained.

"Asleep?"

"Yeah. He knocked you out using this stuff from a can…Ether I think he called it. Anyway, while you were out, he drilled your tooth, cleaned it, and then filled it."

"He did all that while I was asleep?"

"Sure did. Remind me next time not to watch while someone is workin' on your teeth," Kid said as a shiver ran down his back.

"Then what happened?" Heyes asked, curious to find out how he ended up here in the hotel room.

"Believe me Heyes, you don't want to know."

"What to you mean?"

"You had a slight reaction to the Ether and it wasn't pretty."

Heyes frowned at Kid's explanation. "Kid, just what did happen yesterday?"

"You don't remember?"

"No."

"Oh, let's just say that we have to get out of here as soon as you're ready to ride."

"What?"

"Between you tellin' everyone at the saloon that my name is Kid and your conversation with the Sheriff about Indians, I think it's best that we just get goin' as soon as possible," Kid answered as he threw Heyes' saddlebags over to him. "And the next time you want me to read you a bed time story, make it something more interesting than the book that you're reading right now."

"You read me a bed time story?"

"Had to. You were gonna cry if I didn't," Kid said with a grin on his face.

Heyes groaned at what Kid just told him. "Sounds like a pretty bad reaction to the Ether."

"You could say that," Kid agreed. "Come on. I've already paid for the room, got the horses saddled, and bought the supplies. Let's get out of here before you do anything else to bring attention to ourselves." The smile on his partner's face told Heyes that Kid was definitely going to enjoy telling him about what he had done, once they were far enough away from this town.

Handing in the key, they quickly left the hotel and were throwing their saddlebags onto their horses when Sheriff Bacon came by. "Mr. Smith, it's good to see you feeling better," the Sheriff said as he smiled back at Heyes. "The Doc told me all about your reaction to the stuff he used to knock you out. That sure does explain the Indians," Bacon said with a chuckle.

"Uh, yeah, thanks, Sheriff," Heyes stammered out, not remembering what he said to this man.

"You two leaving our fine town already?"

"Afraid so Sheriff," Kid answered. "Got a job waiting for us in Kingston.

"That's too bad about you two leaving," Bacon said as he continued to smile. "Glad the Doc was able to take care of you though, Mr. Smith. Well, hope to see you again, boys. Just watch out for those wooden Indians, Mr. Smith." Bacon started to laugh as he walked away.

Heyes heard the snort coming from his partner and turned to see Kid losing the battle of trying to hide the grin on his face. "I am not gonna to like what you tell me, am I?" Heyes questioned his friend as they mounted their horses.

"Let me just say one thing Heyes," Kid smiled as he sat up straight on his horse and held up his right hand. "How."

The End


End file.
